Monday, October 15, 2012

Alternate upcoming October FUN events!

We've got SOOOO much going on here at Alternate Reality Comics that I want to make a giant post here to give everyone a heads up! I want to firstly thank everyone who comes out to the events at Alternate Reality Comics and to thank you in advance for considering going to the following Alternate Reality Comics October events, when I know that everyone has a lot already going on! I'm going to list these upcoming events in reverse order, just because today is Bizzarro Day (I'm not sure what I mean by that - grin!):

Wednesday, October 31st: Halloween is on New Comics Wednesday! Since Halloween is happening on the same fabulous day of the week that new comics and graphic novels are released, it's mandatory that everyone who comes to Alternate Reality Comics that day, has to be in costume - okay, not really, but if you do come in costume, you'll get three raffle tickets for your chance to win some fabulous prizes, including BIG gift certificates, art prints, graphic novels, and a date with Epstein puppet (well the last item may not be real, unless you want it to be - grin!)! We'll also be having a mini version of Free Comic Book Day, but you'll have to come out to Alternate on Halloween to see what that means! We'll be open from 10am-7pm so you could come early and then come by again right before you and or your little ones go trick or treating!

Sunday, October 28th: Join Alternate Reality Comics and the Vegas comic fan community in celebrating the Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities' 2nd year anniversary at Desert Breeze Park (8275 Spring Mountain Park) from 12-7pm! This sure to be FABULOUS event isn't taking place at Alternate Reality Comics, but it is fully endorsed by us because these Very Awesome Gals have really made the geek / nerd community here in Vegas a force to be reckoned with and a lot of the events they do are done in support of local charitable organizations! I really really hope to see a lot Ich Liebe Comics! blog readers and Alternate Reality Comics' friends at this event and it shouldn't be too cold, but if it is, we'll have the warmth of our big fan community friendship to keep each other warm (grin) - let's show V.A.G.I.N.A. how much we love them for all they do and for being such a FUN group!

Saturday, October 27th: Cosplay Queen of Las Vegas, Brieanna Brock Randall, will be one of the costume designers for what should be one of the biggest Halloween bashes in Las Vegas, at Tommy Rockers (4275 S. Dean Martin Drive), with the fun starting at 8pm. There will be gals and guys in eye candy costumes parading around the joint throughout the night (and everyone's encouraged to come in costume, as there's a $300.00 grand prize for best costume!), great food and drinks, live music, and lots of other entertainment you're not going to get anywhere else for as much fun as you'll have! What costume will I be wearing!?

Saturday, October 27th from 2-5pm at Alternate Reality Comics!: My good friend Ron Horsley will be visiting from Columbus, Ohio, and will be doing debuting his new novel, Sin Gorge, at my store! Sin Gorge will mostly be available as an eBook, but he's going to have some copies available, several of which will be raffle prizes! Besides this being the first novel debut at Alternate Reality Comics, Ron Horsley, the author, has also been my main artist for all of the different versions of Epstein that has colored my store and flyers / postcards for years! Ron is also working on a new 11x17 Epstein print that everyone who comes to this event will get FREE! I hope that a lot of you are able to stop by for Ron Horley's in-store event on this afternoon and will share with him how much his Epstein illustrations have really made Alternate Reality Comics pop! Ron and myself will be plotting our Secret Origin of Epstein comic while he's here, so here's your chance to meet him in person! And there will be FREE snacks and beverages!

Friday, October 26th from 6-8pm at Alternate Reality Comics!: Opening reception for the Seduction of the Innocent Artist Spotlight put together by local artist Pj Perez (The Utopian). The Seduction of the Innocent Artist Spotlight will feature art, selected by Pj Perez, from comics and graphic novels, that have been banned over the years in different parts of the country for their "questionable content"and this Artist Spotlight reception will also be our launch celebration for the fifth annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, which is happening on Saturday, November 3rd, at the Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo, right behind my store!), a FREE mini comics convention, with artists (Gene Ha, being this year's special guest!), panels, and vendors! At the Seduction of the Innocent Artist Spotlight, Pj Perez has created an awesome 11x14 print that will be available for only $5.00, of which all of the proceeds will go to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to help in their battle against future banned sequential art productions and the stores that sell them. Complimentary wine, snacks, and other beverages will also be part of this special Artist Spotlight reception!
And last, but certainly not least (or first really if I was doing this in a chronologically dated fashion - and many of you have also joined this event via the facebook event page I created this past Saturday 'thanks'):

Sunday, October 21st from 2-5pm at Alternate Reality Comics, one of our biggest signings EVER!: Look at this guest list: J.H. Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea, Batman Black Glove, Desolation Jones), James Robinson (of legendary Starman fame, Earth 2, Shade, Golden Age, Justice Society!), Pere Perez (artist on Smallville Season 11, Batgirl, Detective Comics Annual, & many other DC titles), Chris Wisnia (debuting Monstrosis, a new graphic novel featuring Kirbyesque monster action!), & Ales Kot (writer of Wild Children from Image & the upcoming Change, also from Image)! It'll be like a mini-convention! Get some favorite comics signed (some of the artists might even be talked into doing sketches!), raffles for fab prizes, & FREE snacks & beverages! A portion of the events during the event will be donated to Hero Initiative, a non profit organization that helps comic creators in need (but you don't have to buy anything to come out, visit with these great comic creators, & lavish ego strokes upon them!)!
Thanks for reading all of the above and for your consideration in attending any or all of these events (those coming to all of the above events will receive an additional two raffle tickets for our Nevada Day / Halloween, Oct. 31st all day celebration!)!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012 recap!

Last weekend, Las Vegas had its first comic convention in almost ten years (two big comic conventions we had in 1996 and 2003 were poorly promoted and organized, thus killing Vegas comic conventions for years), with Charles, Rob, and David Lee's Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012 and it was a RESOUNDING success on EVERY level! When I first talked to Las Vegas Comic Expo founder, Charles Lee months ago, I knew right away that he wasn't a short-term thinker and that he was committed to doing this convention for years to come. Charles has gone to numerous conventions over the years (and is a HUGE comic fan himself!), so he definitely did his homework. Charles and Rob surrounded themselves with a great support team, including Brieanna Brock Randall (who handled the cosplay side of the convention and assembled photographers), Stephanie Payne (who along with her Very Awesome Girls Into Nerdy Activities gals and other volunteers really made all the small things come together), Shawn Lane (who handled public relations), Douglas Kline (their website guru),Tatiana Dykes and Mark Walters (talent relations and exhibitor registration), and Jimmy Jay of JimmyJayComics.com (director of operations). All of these people and others I'm sure I'm spacing, deserve a HUGE round of applause because last weekend's fun wouldn't have been possible without all of the millions of variables they took care of!

There was a lot of great costumes at Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012 (check out my store's facebook page at Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas!, for three photo sets of some other great cosplayers!), great creative talent from comics and screen (especially for a first year convention!), a wonderful varied group of exhibitors, BIG artist alley section, and there was even gaming and panels, so there really was something for everyone at this show! I personally want to thank everyone who stopped by my booth (and even bought things - grin!) and met my new boss, Epstein puppet (made by Phoenix puppeteer, Stacey Rebecca Gordon!), and gave me and my crew (friends, Michelle, Paul, and Ryan, who did a WONDERFUL job helping me with my booth all weekend!) such great feedback on Alternate Reality Comics' booth! I know that everyone I met and talked to (including vendors and the special guests) had nothing but positive things to say about this first year of Las Vegas Comic Expo, and we're all looking forward to Las Vegas Comic Expo 2013 (which will be at the end of September 2013, location undetermined yet - personally I thought the Riviera was great and I think that space has plenty of space for a growing convention)!